Baalman strikes out 21 in win

SPRINGFIELD — A voice called out from the Calhoun dugout in the fifth inning, directing the outfielders in center and right to move over a couple of steps.

In retrospect, the coach might as well have told them to sit down and pick dandelions.

Grace Baalman fired a no-hitter, striking out 21 of the 22 batters she faced as the Calhoun Warriors punched their ticket to state with a 4-0 victory over the Toledo Cumberland Pirates on Tuesday in the Springfield Class 1A Super-Sectional.

“That’s a very good squad, very well coached,” Calhoun coach Matt Baalman said of a Cumberland team that was unable to put a single ball in play. “Grace was as focused as I’ve ever seen a player – any player.”

Only a sophomore, Baalman fanned the first eight Pirates she faced before issuing a two-out walk to No. 9 hitter Mariah Huddeston in the third inning. Baalman then blew away the next 13 Pirates to finish the first all-strikeout game of her career.

“By the fifth inning, you start to realize that nobody’s put the ball in play yet,” Baalman said. “I have never been that dialed-in before. I don’t know, I was just into the game.”

Baalman hopes to carry that mindset to East Peoria for the Class 1A state tournament this weekend. Calhoun has a semifinal date with Wayne City at 10 a.m. Friday at EastSide Centre. It is the first state appearance for the Warriors since 2011.

Calhoun is 32-4, and Baalman extended her scoreless innings streak to 86 in a row while lowering her ERA to 0.21. In her past three games, Baalman has allowed one hit and two walks while striking out 47 in 20 innings — missing a perfect game in all three by just one batter. For the season, she has 435 strikeouts in 195 and one-third innings.

When asked if she had ever seen anything like Baalman’s 21-strikeout no-hitter, Cumberland coach Marnie Blade said, “Oh yes, we have. We just didn’t make our adjustments like we should have. I’m not taking anything away from (Baalman). We’re not shocked. We just didn’t make adjustments like we should have here today. It’s hard. Trying to take a full swing against her is not going to work.”

Cumberland and Calhoun met in the super-sectionals in 2013 with the Pirates winning 3-1 on their way to a state runner-up finish. Five Cumberland starters from that state team were in the lineup Tuesday, including pitcher and cleanup hitter Kaylee Carlen.

“My sister lost to them,” said Grace Baalman, who watched that game as an eighth-grader, “so I kind of wanted to beat them.”

What Calhoun pitcher Maddie Baalman (who just finished a strong freshman season at Saint Louis University) was unable to get done two years ago, her little sister did in a dominating swing-and-miss parade. “Her ball was moving as much as I’ve ever seen it move,” Matt Baalman said.

Cumberland (28-10) never put the ball in play and hit — unofficially — only four foul balls, including two off bunt attempts.

“That does something to a girl’s head,” Blade said. “When you have one or two Ks all season, that’s rough to have a couple in one game. I don’t think mentally they were able to make that adjustment in their head.”

Calhoun broke open a scoreless game with two runs in the fourth inning. Grace Baalman doubled with one out and scored on Emma Baalman’s RBI single. Sara Brodbeck, on a postseason tear, continued her hot hitting by driving a double off the fence in center field to score Emma Baalman.

The Warriors added two more runs in the seventh inning on hits by Macy Margherio and Abby Baalman before Madison Lehr’s RBI double.

“Everybody put the ball in play in the first two innings, so I knew after that we had it,” Grace Baalman said. “Everybody was seeing the ball well, and I knew it was going to be a good game.”

The Warriors got to Carlen for 10 hits, including four doubles. Abby Baalman, Grace Baalman, Brodbeck and Margherio each had two hits for the Warriors.